love and rockets tpb set

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black and white, collection, Fantagraphics, Gilbert Hernandez, Hernandez Brothers, Indie Comics, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets

Before packing up our modest collection of Love & Rockets paperbacks, we snapped a few examples of the dramatic and personal artwork inside. Let’s just admit the photos aren’t the greatest, and offer this as merely a peek – a glimpse – of greatness. The Hernandez Brothers treat their cartoons with love. Though many of these stories resonate with us more than others, you won’t find any poorly done stories.

Highlights include the book Love & Rockets X, a riotous melting pot of ethnic, generational, and gender identity conflicts rendered with humor – but not so much sensitivity it doesn’t sting. The stories of female wrestlers remain our favorites, with loveable and pleasingly plump heroines rendered in black-and-white perfection. Our collection held a large chunk of the critically-acclaimed Palomar stories and the earliest Mechanics stories. If you haven’t read any of this historic series before, see if these pages catch your eyes.

Fantagraphics continues to publish new printings every few years. You can browse the Fantagraphics Love & Rockets selection to see what they currently have in print and in stock. Happy Reading!

Speak of the Devil!

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Dark Horse Comics, first issue, Gilbert Hernandez, Hernandez Brothers, Indie Comics, Love and Rockets, Speak of the Devil

Speak of the Devil is a six-issue series by Gilbert Hernandez of Love and Rockets fame. The story begins with a peeping tom prowling the neighborhood while wearing a devil mask. The pervert turns out to be a promising young gymnast spying on the bedroom antics of her stepmother and father. She eventually gets a male friend involved. They uncover a web of secrets they will soon wish they had not.

Love and Rockets fans will recognize some characters, but it isn’t necessary to have a history with L&R to jump on board and enjoy this unusual story. We’ve included a few pages to whet your appetite.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Speak of the Devil #1; Dark Horse, 2007.
– Collected in the Speak of the Devil Hardcover

If I Only Had Enough for a Table Dance!

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Hernandez Brothers, Indie Comics, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets, Penny Century

What can we say about Penny Century, an offbeat book by the creators of Love and Rockets? If you know anything about Fantagraphics, you can expect to see things censored by just about every other major comics publisher. The funny thing is, Penny Century #2 is mostly concerned with an innocent childhood tale and would pass a “PG” rating. Then, issue #3 explodes all over the map: science fiction, horror, straight sex, gay sex, full frontal nudity with males and females alike, strippers, lesbians shopping in superhero lingerie – WTF?!?! What the Heck is going on? We don’t know, but it’s quirky, it’s off-beat, and it’s different! See for yourself!

Collector’s Guide:
The Hernandez Brothers of Love and Rockets fame spun off some of their characters into Penny Century. Fantagraphics published 7 issues of Penny Century and collected them in the Penny Century TPB.

The TPB includes all 3 issues of the female wrestling extravaganza Whoa Nellie. Check out our post on Whoa Nellie for some eye-popping artwork!

Preeeeeeeesenting… The Women’s Texas Championship!

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Fantagraphics, female wrestling, Hernandez Brothers, Indie Comics, Jaime Hernandez, Whoa Nellie, Womens Texas Championship

Big women, big action! Jaime Hernandez of Love and Rockets fame produced this little-known series, Whoa Nellie. Fantagraphics Books published it.

Feast your eyes on a delectable sample of its voluptuous and bodacious majesty!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Whoa Nellie.
– Reprinted in the Penny Century TPB and also the Whoa Nellie TPB.
– You might also enjoy Love and Rockets.

We’ve looked at Penny Century here, too. Click Penny Century to see more!